"Your Highness, please forgive me. I was confused for a moment and was jealous of my third brother's father's attention, which led to a big mistake." Ding Zhi knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, "Please spare my life, Your Highness."
Xiao Huayong's long eyelashes drooped slightly, and his pupils moved slightly, glancing at the person kneeling in front of him and begging: "Ka ka ka... I am not a victim."
Ding Zhi understood immediately and turned to face Shen Xihe, kneeling and begging: "I am stupid and blind, please forgive me, princess."
Shen Xihe raised his eyes and looked at Xiao Huayong with his clear and moist pupils. He hadn't noticed it before, but only now did he see that there was a very small black mole near the corner of his left eye, which added a touch of laziness and luxury to him.
"The princess is the victim, so the decision will be made by her." Xiao Huayong smiled gently.
A gentleman is like jade, gentle and moist.
When he smiled gently, there was a kind of elegance that was naturally apparent from his bones.
Shen Xihe was not polite either. He bowed slightly to Xiao Huayong to express his gratitude, and then turned to Ding Zhi: "I am not a person who is unforgiving even when I am right, but I am not a stupid person either. If Mr. Ding wants me to be tolerant, I have to tell the truth."
Ding Zhi's body stiffened, and he suddenly raised his head. He could see her eyes through the curtain. They were beautiful, like obsidian, but seemed to be covered with a layer of cold smoke and mist, a little cold and a little unclear.
For some reason, as soon as Ding Zhiyi met her eyes, he felt as if she saw through him.
"My Lady, everything I say is true..."
"Ding Zhi." Ding Zhi lowered his head and gritted his teeth before speaking. The attendant beside Xiao Huayong interrupted him, "You have to think clearly. If your aunt and your sisters were gone and you injured the Third Young Master, how would the Marquis treat them?"
In a word, it hits the mark.
Shen Xihe took a look at the attendant. He didn't look like a eunuch but more like a guard.
Ding Zhi panicked all of a sudden. He was stunned for a moment and then sat down on the ground dejectedly: "I am a fool who doesn't know the limits and offended the princess."
Seeing that he seemed to be relenting, Shen Xihe changed his mind and asked, "Do you know that the person who stopped at the city gate is me?"
Ding Zhi lowered his head: "I know."
"Who told you?" Shen Xihe asked again.
Ding Zhi was a little surprised. He didn't expect Shen Xihe to understand his difficulties. He quickly answered truthfully: "It's Chen Jing, Chen Jing from Xuanping Marquis Mansion."
The Mansion of Marquis Xuanping.
Just as she thought.
The Mansion of Marquis Xuanping is Xiao’s maternal grandfather’s home. The current Marquis Xuanping should be Xiao’s cousin, and the old lady of Prince Kang’s Mansion is from the Mansion of Marquis Xuanping.
"This..." Xue Heng looked at Shen Xihe in embarrassment.
Ding Zhi said that it was Chen Jing who told him that Shen Xihe entered the city today. This meant that he was instigating Ding Zhi, or that he was helping Ding Zhi to harm Ding Jue. However, there was definitely no evidence. If Chen Jing refused to admit it, there was nothing he could do.
"I understand that you haven't made a serious mistake, so I'll give you fifty strokes of the cane as a light punishment and a serious warning. Are you convinced?" Shen Xihe asked Ding Zhi.
Ding Zhi immediately knelt straight and bowed deeply to Shen Xihe: "I am convinced and thank you for not killing me."
"Lord Xue, is this okay?" Shen Xihe turned and asked Xue Heng.
Xue Heng glanced at Xiao Huayong cautiously before saying, "The princess has a kind heart."
Shen Xihe knelt down and saluted to Xiao Huayong: "Zhaoning thanks His Highness for making the decision for Zhaoning."